Police Against Drug Prohibition: An Interview with LEAP’s Greg Denham
In 2001, the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) was established in Sydney’s Kings Cross, in response to a spate of heroin overdoses. Ten years on, studies found that the facility had been a resounding success. Ambulance call-outs were down by 80...
Indigenous Treaties: An Interview with Narungga Elder Tauto Sansbury
Many are calling it a historic event, while others are saying it’s about time. Several state governments around Australia are finally entering into treaty discussions with the nation’s First Peoples. The South Australian government announced last week that it will begin...
Legalise It: An interview with Australian Hemp Party President Michael Balderstone
It’s been a big year for marijuana in Australia. In February, federal parliament passed the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Bill 2016 allowing for the legal cultivation, manufacture and distribution of medicinal cannabis. Under the new system - which came into effect on October...
End the Detention of Palestinian Children: An Interview with APAN’s Jessica Morrison
A nine-year-old Palestinian boy, who we’ll refer to as Ahmad, was detained by Israeli soldiers on July 26 this year. He was playing with friends near the Wall in the West Bank village of Zububa, when two Israeli soldiers chased him...
Empowering Women Inmates: An Interview with WIPAN President Kat Armstrong
More women in Australia are being incarcerated than ever before. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest that since 2005, the incarceration rate for women has risen by close to 40 percent, compared with 18 percent for men. Women account for around...
MDMA Can Cure PTSD: An Interview with Dr Stephen Bright
Most Australians think of MDMA as the illicit party drug ecstasy. Often it’s the main ingredient. However, an ecstasy pill will usually contain a range of substances, such as PMA, which mimics the effect of MDMA, but can be much...
Returning to Work after Cancer: An Interview with Professor Bogda Koczwara
In the past, the C word was something people didn’t like to discuss in polite company. However, with increasingly better treatments becoming available, cancer no longer necessarily marks the end of a person’s life. This year, the number of Australians...
Abolishing the Partial Defence of Provocation: An Interview with Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon
The partial defence of provocation can be argued in a court of law when a person who’s killed another claims to have been provoked by the deceased in such a way that they lost self-control and were therefore less culpable...
An Unfair Dismissal? An Interview with Former Police Constable Hugh Brennan
We’ve reported on a number of police officers who’ve engaged in crime, corruption and other forms of misconduct, yet still been allowed to remain on the NSW Police Force. There are currently hundreds of officers on the NSW force with...
End the Stolen Generation: An Interview with GMAR’s Aunty Hazel Collins
Currently, there are 15,000 Indigenous children living in out-of-home care in Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are nine times more likely to be forcibly removed from their families, than non-Indigenous children. A report released by Family Matters -...